Aligning and locking means for flooring strips



OJ. TAYLOR June 11, I940.

ALIGNING AND LOCKING MEANS FOR FLOORING STRIPS Filed April 4, 1939 INVENTOR @455 2 11 1012 ATTORNEY Patented June 11, 1940 UNITED STATES ALIGNING AND LOCKING MEANS F012."

FLOORING s'rmrs James Taylor, Oklahoma; City, Okla. Application April 4, 1938, Serial No. 199,823

2 Claims. ((31. en-22 This invention relates to new and :useful improvements in aligning and locking means for terrazzo, or other flooring, strips. i

It is the usual practice in laying terrazzo, or

5 similar flooring, to pour a base, or screed coat,

preferably of concrete, on the floor slab. The

strips which provide forms into which the terrazzo is poured and which also form the design in the finished floor, are embedded, orset, within the concrete base and have their upper longitudinal edge portions projecting thereabove. At the points of intersection of the strips, said strips tend to separate or become misaligned, due to bending of said strips. This separationor mis-' alignment may occur prior to thelaying of the terrazzo as said strips are constructed of rela tively thinmaterial; or it may occur after the terrazzo is in place, in which instance the strips may becomebent during the rolling and finishing operations. The misalignment, or separation, of

thestrips not only detracts materially from the appearance of the flooring but also effects the quality of the same. To overcome this misalignmerit of the strips, architects have recommended that the ends of the strips be soldered, or otherwise fastened together but such procedure in volves considerable time, labor and expense and,

for these reasons, is undesirable. i

It is, therefore, one object of the invention to provide improved means for aligning, andmaintaining alignment, of the usual strips employed in laying terrazzo floors, or floors of similar material without the necessity of soldering, or other wise permanently fastening the ends of the strips together.

An important object of the invention is to pro-w vide an improved block which is adapted to engage the ends of the dividing strips at the juncture thereof to rigidly hold said strips in proper or channels for receiving the strips, the member having its top portion adapted to be ground off,

or removed, after the floor is finished, whereby X thelower portion of said member remains em-,

bedded .in the floor to permanently maintain aligmnent of the strips. A construction designedto carry out the invention will be hereinafter described, together with otherffeatures of the invention. l The invention will be more readily understood from a reading of the following specification and by reference to the accompanying drawing, in which an example of the invention is shown, and wherein:

Figure 1 is an isometric view of the usual method of constructing terrazzo or similar floors, Figure 2 is an isometric view of an aligning and locking member, constructed in accordance with the invention, l

Figure 3 is a view similar to Figure lshowin the locking memberapplied to the strips of the floor, l c 15 Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 3 showing the completed floor,

Figures 5 to 9 are plan views showing various types of lockingmembers,

Figure 10 is an isometric view of a modified 20 form of locking member, and r "Figure 11 is a transverse, vertical, sectional View showing still another form of the locking member in position within a floor.

In the drawing, thenumeral Ill designates the 25 usual floor slab upon which a base ll, preferably of concrete and generally referred to as the ,screed coat, is poured. Dividing strips l2 have finished floor. The strips may be of any suitable material and will vary in color and disposition,

in accordance with the design.

G In Figure 1;the'joint or juncture betweenfour strips has been shown and the vertical edges of said strips meet at this joint. Two of the strips I20, should be in longitudinal alignment so that theirupper edges form a continuous line, while the other two strips I212 which extend at a right 45 angle to the strips l2a, should be longitudinally, aligned. However, since the strips are constructed of relatively thin material, it is diflicult to maintain proper alignment of said strips and,

as shown in Figure 1, the ends of said strips be 5 come separated, or misaligned, due to slight bending thereof.

For positively aligning the strips I20. and the strips i212, an aligning member l3 (Figure 2) is provided. This member is shown in the shape 5 'CIOSS arms of a cross, having arms I31: and l3b The arms I30. are aligned with each other and are disposed at right angles to the arms I311, which are also in alignment with each other. Each arm of the member is formed with a vertical channel,

or groove M which has a width substantially strips are accurately aligned. The member may be constructed of the same material as the strips, or it may be made of other material; also, said member may be colored, as desired.

The height of the arms of the member I3 is such that when said member is placed over the strips, as shown in Figure 3, the lower ends of said arms terminate above and are spaced from the top of the base H. The lower edges at the outer ends of the arms may be inclined or bevelled at l5, so as to facilitate positioning the memher on thestrips. Also, if desired, each arm may be provided with a transverse opening, or aper ture, l6 which extends entirely therethrough.

After the member I3 is positioned on the strips, the terrazzo II, or other material of which the floor is to be formed, is poured into the spaces between the strips l2. The member l3 strengthens and holds the strips in perfect align ment during this operation. The terrazzo is leveled off flush with the upper edges of the strips and since the member I3 is upon the strips, it will be seen that the top of the-member projects above the floor surface. After the terrazzo is rolled and allowed to set, the finishing operation, which includes grinding down the floor surface so as to give it a smooth polished appearance, is performed. It is at this time that the entire upper surface of themember I3 is ground off, or removed. The upper portion, or that material above the channels or grooves l4, which covers the upper edges of the strips I2 is removed, whereby the side walls of the grooves it are exposed, as shown in Figure 4. These walls have the openings l8 therein and are firmly em bedded within the terrazzo, andmanifestly, they brace and reinforce the joint between'the strips to maintain perfect alignment of the strips at all times. Since the member is suitably colored, it does not detract from the appearance of the floor but readily works into the design thereof.

In Figures 1 to 4, the member is shown in the shape of 'a cross, but manifestly, it may assume any shape to conform to the disposition of the strips and the joint formed therebetween. In Figure 5, the member is disclosed as aligning three converging strips I20 and one longitudinally strip l2d, while in Figure 6, the member is shown circular to align the strips Ma and IE1). In Figures '7 to 9, other shapes of the member connecting variously positioned strips are shown and by observing these figures, it will be seen that the size and shape of the member is subject to wide variation.

In Figure 10, the modified shape ofthe member, as illustrated in Figure 6, is shown in more detail. This member is cylindrical in crosssection and has the vertical grooves M therein. No transverse openings, such as IE in Figure 2, are shown for, as has been pointed out, these openings may be eliminated.

It is pointed out that the height of the member may vary as it would be possible to make the memberso that its lower end is embedded in the concrete base ll, in which case, the member would be applied to the strips before the base is poured. Also, the member could be made as shown in Figure v11, wherein the same is inverted with the open ends of the grooves M lo cated at the upper end of the strips and the top, which is normally ground ofi, forming a base for the member.

The foregoing description of the invention is explanatory thereof and various changes in the size, shape and materials, as well as in the details of the illustrated construction may be made, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

l. The method of forming a floor which consists in, embedding a plurality of strips in: intersecting relation in a floor, placing-a grooved reinforcing and aligning member over each intersection, introducing fiooring material between the strips and locating the upper surface thereof in a plane with the upper longitudinal edges of the strips, and then grinding the top off of the reinforcing members to expose the remainder of said member at each intersection.

2."I'he method of forming a floor which includes, embedding a plurlaity of thin metallic strips in intersecting relation'in a floor, placing a grooved reinforcing and'aligning member over the adjacent ends of the strips at each intersection, whereby the top of the member projects in a plane above the upper longitudinal edges of the strips, filling the spaces between the strips with a flooring material so that the upper surface of said material is disposed in a plane aligned with the upper edges of the strips, and

then removing the top of the reinforcing members to expose the remainder of each member at eachintersection.

' JAMES TAYLOR. 

